News
Looking to elevate your cocktail game, streamline your bar operations, or simply unlock the secrets of the perfect pour? You've come to the right place!
At Überbartools™, we're passionate about all things bar-related, and we're dedicated to sharing our knowledge and insights with you.
NEVER HIRE THE WRONG PEOPLE AGAIN... THE 4 C'S TO EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS
In an industry with such a high turnover rate, staffing changes are a constant consideration for any bar manager. Make the right decision and your team’s lives becomes easier, their morale becomes higher, and their work becomes more profitable – but make the wrong decision, and everything can turn around in an instant.
When a dutiful hire turns out to be a dud, recovering is exhausting — especially if it was your job to vet them in the first place.
It can be challenging to develop a system for evaluating potential hires, more so when staff is needed and options are slim. Managing a hospitality team is about selecting diverse people to fill diverse roles, each often requiring a completely different skill set.
The key to selecting a team member, partner, associate, supplier or whoever, is to pay attention and ask the right big-picture questions.
Don’t get snowed by someone who is just a smooth talker if you are hiring for organizational skills. Don’t be fooled by a great look or presence when you are hiring for back of house. Take the time to make sure what you see can match up with what you really need.
Some years ago l read a short article that challenged the reader to apply a scientific thought process to the suitability of an individual for a role or position.
It’s easy to think you do this already, but in the moment so much of what you set out to evaluate can be easily be forgotten.
Understanding the need for a process allowed me to look beyond the first impressions (and beyond what I thought of as standard “interview” success) to really make sure I had gathered enough initial information to clarify common success factors.
What do you really need to hit on in order to make role selection possible? The answer can be boiled down to the 4C’s…
The 4C’s
- Capacity
Does the person have the knowledge, intellectual skills and experience for the job, position?
- Compatibility
Does the person have the personality, character traits to fit into the organisation?
- Commitment
Does the person have the enthusiasm for the role long term, is there a burning desire to succeed, what is their need and or needs?
- Capability
Does this person have the ability to grow, learn, follow, lead, innovate, apply, assist and build?
Expanding each of the 4C’s into questions specific to the position being considered allowed me to build a clearer picture of what I wanted to see in an ideal applicant.
Running through what you hope to hear from a future hire will allow you to build a clearer picture of who the right person for your job is.
Next time you are hiring, ask the right questions and make sure the contender fits into your 4C’s. With a bit of extra insight you will be one step closer to hiring your next rock star team member.
WINE... IS IT TIME TO MEASURE?
“Am I getting as much as I’ve paid for?”
That’s the question many consumers seem to ponder when drinking wine at a bar or restaurant — and rightly so. How does a consumer know when they are receiving the correct volume serve?
With a mixed drink, value for a customer is simple: a jigger is filled and a shot is measured, but in wine there lies confusion. Consumers are constantly faced with a huge variety of wine glasses, and almost every glass manufacturer has a different idea on what the volume capacity should be for each.
Head into a restaurant using a smaller sized glass and it may be filled to the brim, but visit a venue using a larger volume glass, and a the serve is just a quarter of the way up the glass.
While we in hospitality may easily spot even small variations in bowl size, the communication is not as clear for most sitting at the table.
With the exception of certain European countries where it's the law to serve wine in consistent volumes mentioned on menus and signage, other markets (such as the US, Canada, Australia and many Asian countries) have no obligation to advertise or even advise what a serve entails.
Some venues use glassware with white lines or etchings (called plimsoll lines) to help determine when a correct serving of wine is poured, however consumers are still largely kept in the dark as to what quantifiable amount that measure actually is.
Though plimsoll lines may be better than nothing, they are still at best an estimate of where a designated volume line should be. In many instances the correct volume serves for each category can vary quite significantly – 120mL, 90mL and 60mL, which is the line delineating? Add in Champagne, fortified, and desert wines and additional classifications only further the complexity.
If a customer goes into a supermarket and buys a bag of grapes, they’ll be charged by the standardized weight of the grapes, but ironically, ask to be served the liquid from grapes in a wine bar and the calculated cost is treated very differently.
In an age of transparency, accountability and expectation there is a call for the “glass of wine” to become more tangibly understood. Is it time for wine serves to be standardized and measured just like their spirited brothers? In short, yes.
Consumers have a right and expectation: what is paid for is exactly what they should be getting by volume.
WHAT'S NOT MEASURED IS NOT VALUED
The old adage what's not measured is not valued!
This blog is not about comparing the merits of style, art, and experience of free pouring bartenders; but rather the acknowledgement that without measurement, there's no accountability, without accountability, profitability and consistency will surely suffer.
Über recommends always measuring or portion controlling spirits, wine, beer and sparkling wines! See our selection of accurate and cost effective pouring and measuring tools... Click here
One can tell a lot about a business by the activities and actions that are valued; as value determines where focus goes.
Business budgets and projections are judgments based on some form of calculation... lowering the gap between goal and reality requires measurement with arising actions.
There isn't a sports star, business person, doctor, scientist, plumber, architect, politician, exam, race or just about any form of performance activity that's not measured... the exception is what happens behind a bar.
Profit is the ultimate indicator of success in business (NGO's accepted)... The insurance policy one takes to protect profits comes down to the investment one makes in training with the commensurate tools to pour and measure alcohol, accurately and consistently. Über has a range of pouring and measuring tools to assist bars increase profitability, consistency and reduce over-pouring and waste. Click here
The prize for making profit is the chance to come back tomorrow to do it again. The penalty on the other hand: the doors shut!
If you want to quickly increase profits, improve drink quality and consistency whilst reducing unnecessary alcohol wastage one of Über’s tailored pouring solutions will solve your problems full stop... More information Click here
BOTTLE NECKS... BOTTLE D'OHS
Over the last five years many iconic brands bottles have been redesigned, together with even more new brands entering the market.
Bottle design in the 21st century is built around LOOKS – internationally renowned designers are employed to develop a unique brand-focused look where the bottle becomes the message to drive presence, equity and ultimately, sales.
In a perfect world this thought process seems logical, EXCEPT that designers design for look, they don’t usually consider design for functionality behind a bar (considering speed of service, fit, ease of use and safety).
The fatal flaw is when design is predicated on looks or presence, ultimately functionality and then sales will suffer.
In the battle behind the bar there’s just one simple rule: the harder it is for a bartender to pick up, hold, and serve a bottle, the less likely a bartender will go pour that bottle, recommend that brand to a guest in an up-sell; totally regardless if the brand has paid to be promoted, profiled and poured in a bar.
To brand custodians throughout the world this news is not good.
We all know Homer Simpson’s famous “D’OH” catchphrase whenever he realises a mistake or when something bad has happened.
So we’ve borrowed that and applied it to our list of some typical ‘Bottle D’ohs:
The history books are full of ‘Bottle D’oh’s, resulting in bottle re-designs, due to on-site negative feedback.
A very memorable instance some years back saw a Vodka brand introduce a new bottle shape that could not fit a speed pourer, resulting in millions of dollars in lost sales, new bottle design etc. As we understand it, the brand manager in charge lost his/her job.
Then there was the Asian brand owned by a European company that created a bottle which tended to result in broken bottle necks in transit. Or even the Tequila brand that designed a bottle and received a massive pouring contract with a large organisation…all without a speed pourer on the planet to fit it.
So Über stepped in and designed one: the ProFlow Extreme™.
There’s no international standard on bottle design, so the sky’s the limit when it comes to getting the creative juices going. But it’s worth remembering: when designing the bottle consider how the alcohol is going to be poured from it! Design thinking will change only when spirit bottles are considered as a delivery platform rather than just a point of sale pony – designing in isolation means you potentially may not be making a statement but rather serving a sentence!
Want to avoid costly mistakes that could cost your brand sales and opportunity? Contact Über for some practical design assistance click here.
THE BACK BAR PRICING PYRAMID
Many bars and restaurants are not properly setup to maximize guest up sell.
It's important to set up a back bar to accommodate multi-tier pricing across categories.
One of the most efficient ways to set up a back bar is using a Back Bar Pricing Pyramid or Bar Grid.
In a nutshell the cheapest brands start at the bottom of a shelf whilst more expensive brands are graduated upwards.
A great example of well set up Back Bar is local Sydney icon Smoking Panda with a 6 tier pricing pyramid for their pricing structure ($9, $10, $11, $12, $15, $25).
The grid is replicated twice to allow for 2 teams of bartenders to operate behind a speed rail/back bar duality – in other words the back bar is mirrored twice so that bar tenders literally turn around to access the choice/brand required. No crossover nor wasted operational time during peak service times.
A great back bar creates a visually enticing liquor “palette” so that inquisitive guests can relax and then “initiate” bar tender conversations by asking questions.
Download here your complimentary Bar Grid work sheets.
BEWARE AIR JOBS: VERBAL WANNABES
Ever been seduced by promises that vanish before the words ever hit the air?
Then folks beware the Air Job!
What’s an Air Job: an individual who with seething conviction expresses love, or makes some type of promise to commit, act, or reciprocate, yet when it comes to the crunch, nothing ever happens!
Air Jobs work for you, are customers, are service provider, are friends, are associates… inevitably these people just want something from you or importantly want something more for themselves, unrelated to your needs or outcomes!
At some point intention must turn into physical action or commitment… otherwise one’s credibility is at stake... an old tailor once said: the cloth we cut our promises from results from the outcomes we sew!
Recognizing the Air Job, avoids disappointments, wannabes and time wasters from taking focus away from the people, relationships and actions that do really matter!
WHAT DETERMINES A SUCCESSFUL DRINKING EXPERIENCE! (WINNING AT THE POINT OF POUR)
WHEN SERVICE ISN'T A DIFFERENTIATOR… WHAT'S NEXT
Once upon a time... service was thought of as the great differentiator between businesses!
Now when transparency, customer ratings, competition is everywhere, NO business cannot afford to offer anything less than great customer service.
Yet, great service has become a commodity!
When everyone’s offering great service, do your guests then value or consider your service as a differentiator?
This week l had the experience of going to a local motor registry office… prior experiences were an experience in helplessness and humiliation as a public
(potentate) servant threw my "wait" around.
Things have since changed, today customers have the option of rating their service experience at an exit rating machine.
The arising question: when great service is no longer a differentiator what can one implement as a competitive counter move… the answer
Delivering Exceptional Experiences!
Everything can be copied yet within the 4 walls of a business one can create and own a unique customer’s experience that delivers exception and in the process success. Try it!
Shattering the Glass Myth: 3 Flaws that no one talks about
There isn't a bar or restaurant that doesn't use glass of some type to serve alcoholic beverages.
Glass is our trusty partner... the reliable vessel we hope to repeatedly serve and consistently deliver portion control for beverages... or so we think!
In many instances glass is more an act of faith, equivalent to the expectation that a grocer’s scale or petrol pump is accurate and the value we've paid for is what we’re really receiving.
The glass myth is not a question of glass importers or distributors deliberately misleading the hospitality industry, it's more about under-educating users. The outcome of the issues is that millions of restaurants and bars are unwittingly over-serving/ over pouring alcohol, collectively costing billions of $... yet no one says a word!
THE 3 FLAWS
- Act of Faith - The volumes you think you’re buying are approximates
- Factory marked plimsoll lines or volume level measures on beer and wine glassware are mainly guesses.
- That Oz and/or Metric conversions are rounded up or down.
Every mL or fraction of an Oz over served may cost little on a serve by serve basis yet multiplied tens of thousands of times weekly, monthly and yearly… it adds up!
ACT OF FAITH
Glass is made in large moulds, whereby thick molten glass is high pressured into a mould…during this process the glass will unevenly fill the mould’s internal cavity due to the manufacturing process. At times, there will be fairly large discrepancies in volumes representing 3-5% difference in the advertised volume designation attached to that glass!
To see the results of this issue line up 10-12 of the same volume glasses made by the same manufacturer… check bowl thicknesses at the bottom of each bowl, glass heights and glass diameters... see any differences?
Of course every production run will produce differences or tolerances within each batch and different production runs.
Whilst statistical averages from the manufacturer may indicate volume conformity over millions and millions of units, as we know from the “Claw of Averages”... the greater the number of glass units tested the lower the volume variations appear to be however, the small amount of glass units used in a bar or restaurant the difference in volume inaccuracy increases as the quantity of glass is comparably low.
PLIMSOLL LINES MARKINGS
A line measure means that a glass has a designation line, marked somewhere on the bowl of the glass to approximate where the desired or designated volume level is. Every market has different volume requirements and therefore the lines should be adjusted up or down, by the manufacturer however that may not always be the case.
Above or below the line… Depending where a server stands in comparison to the glass, the line of the glass will appear differently (this is called parallax error)... stand at the same height as the glass and the volume line will probably correspond to the marked line. Look down on the glass or look up at the glass and the line appears different. When one pours into a glass slowly and deliberately a server can hit the line... but given the speed bars and restaurants run at how practical is that! Throw into the equation parallax error... then you’ve got a potential over-pouring issue!
VOLUME CONVERSIONS
Glass made in Europe is mainly designed to suit metric volumes, local jurisdiction... send the same glasses to the US or Canada the volumes are approximated into Oz, of course there is a difference between US and Canadian Oz’s.
The US use US Oz and in Canada, Imperial Oz’s... each with minor differences 1 Oz/3 0mL approx… in real terms US Ounce is 29.57mL and Canadian Ounce is 29.41mL. Glasses made in the US are made to US volume amounts, converted into mL’s.
So depending on which country the glass is made there will be differences in the actual advertised volumes due to metric/ounce conversions.
WHY IS UNDER EDUCATION GOOD FOR YOU?
When the customer (you) doesn’t understand the ramifications of inaccurate glasses to profitability and consistency on the bottom line, then distributor/manufacturers will never be held to account. They’ll continue doing what they’ve always done… you!
When customers demand better, at some point of time manufacturers will listen and do!
SO WHAT TO DO?
- Speak to your distributor.
- Measure and account for beer, wine and spirits shortages against POS records/inventory control, when you’re trying to find where possible discrepancies live, and inaccurate glassware may be the culprit.
- Buy an accurate measure or pour test kit to randomly check glassware volumes delivery by delivery for consistency… then decide what tolerance levels you’ll accept... reject glasses that do not conform or if you can increase your selling prices accordingly.
Oh yes one more thing!
Want to save a buck or two and buy cheaply made glasses... then consider this: what may be saved in upfront costs, may be lost quickly as these glasses tend to be made to a price not made for accuracy.
Ultimately you pay for what you get!
ASIAN TIGERS: THE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF PROHIBITION ROAR!
There’s a quiet revolution, it’s a silent tsunami of talent gathering force and if not careful will sweep the arrogant and complacent away!
What we’re referring to is the explosion of knowledgeable bartenders from all parts of South East Asia (SEA), now seeking greater experience and new homes in the developed cocktail markets of the world.
Photo credit: Antonio Lai - Quinary Hong Kong
Significant investment by liquor companies over the last 5-8 years in training, outreach, competition and ambassadors has transformed the marketplace to equip a new breed of passionate SEA bartenders with knowledge and skills... what they now seek is wider experience, maybe at your expense!
Sadly many SEA countries are poor… bartending, mixology and cocktail culture has been for many a way out of poverty and hardship as individuals leap frog futures with no horizons, to land on professions with endless opportunity!
Successful SEA bartenders build and support their families and local communities... funding education, housing and other worthy endeavours, with their success brings hope, safety and smiles to those at home!
Unencumbered by arrogance, a poor work ethic, lack of respect, this cohort appreciates everything. It may very well be that Asian culture is better suited to providing superior hospitality experiences to help, serve and transform thirsty and hungry guests sitting patiently throughout the developed world!
Powered by emotional and economic drivers that many western bartenders fail to understand… the new breed are eager for success; ready for the challenges and rewards that hospitality brings!
The future impact on bartenders in other countries is yet to be felt! But let's be very clear, complacency will be rocked as the competition gets decidedly harder, more willing and infinitely more flexible!
Locals not at the top of their game may one day be felled by the Great Grandchildren of Prohibition; beware the crouching tigers ready to pounce!
KITCHENS VS BARS: THE STORY OF WATCHED VS WASTED
The kitchen and bar, in a modern hospitality business, operationally speaking pull in different directions, creating a paradigm rather than a clearly defined singularity of purpose and outcome!
This paradigm we refer to is a tug of war created unknowingly between the Kitchen/Bar.
The contrast boils down to:
“What’s WATCHED in the kitchen tends to be WASTED in the bar”.
The WATCH versus WASTE paradigm pivots around 2 different philosophies each altering individual operational imperatives, training and arising metrics.
Kitchens are tremendously expensive enterprises, with tight margins. Produce, protein and labour costs are finely balanced in an economic pas de deux, whereby the slightest hiccup, mis-costing, mis-portioning may very well blow any profit on a meal out of the water!
Bars seemingly operate differently: what costs so little per serve/shot is sold at very high multiples, requiring far less time and energy to produce a profitable result.
Given the economics, management is very focused on closely watching what’s valued the most… things which are undervalued are more likely to be taken for granted and wasted!
The issues between the Kitchen and Bar Operations can be broadly contained to 6 key differences:
- Chefs tend to be formally trained (scientifically) at culinary schools, whereas bar/beverage people tend to learn on the job.
- Structure, measurement, precision are vital to operating a profitable kitchen. Consistency is the outcome sought... yet flip this to a bar and measurement is not critical, drink balance and inconsistency is rife.
- Bars can be notoriously lax compared to strict chef imposed process and controls. A lobster tail goes missing in the kitchen and a wild chef is on the hunt... a bottle of booze goes missing there’s a grunt or huh!
- Kitchens invest in tools which save, assist and control; whereas bar spending is confined to guest facing serve ware. Bar consumables are not compared, cross checked for value, quality and performance; whereas in the kitchen, kitchen consumables are.
- Chefs do inventory daily or multi-times a week, in well run bars this may be done weekly, mostly monthly (if at all).
- Accountability in the kitchen is extremely high... every scrap, drop, grain is watched and accounted for, whereas it’s more laissez faire behind the bar.
If you are an independent or multi-unit operator the news is not all bad as there are specialist inventory control companies such Barmetrics and Bevinco offering intensive on-going management control systems to help.
Compare your kitchen and bar operations... once the analysis is done, it makes sense to impose kitchen discipline in your bar. Try it... what do you have to lose, other than money, inventory and reputation!
ÜBER REVERSE SELLING TO JAPAN
Japanese inspired barware has captured the imagination of bartenders throughout the world.
The spirit of Zen mastery, now infuses tool-ology in a way we refer to as BarShido™... (see BarShido™, the way of The Bartender).
Tool-ology we define as: the mythology, mastery and mimicry of tool design based on unchanged historical cues.
Ironically many Japanese tool re-sellers love the tools, yet hate the prices and mostly now offer Japanese “style” or “inspired” alternatives sourced from other Asian countries!
Some unwitting buyers feel somewhat cheated when their investment netted tools “inspired by” rather than “originating from”, Japan! The difference measured in terms of quality and longevity, as inevitably you pay for
what you get!
Über has always believed in innovation based on the evolution of human centred design thinking. What this means, as our understanding of workplace need, efficiency and ergonomics improves, so too should the empowering tools used to underpin that work.
It would come as no surprise that Über's re-imagining of Japanese tools such our new Ice Forks, Picks and Jiggers would become the pieces in a reverse selling process back to Japan… the equivalent we think of of selling “ice to the Eskimos!”
Consider Jiggers without a meniscus… ice tools where safety (eliminating hand slippage), modularity (replaceable parts to allow for indefinite tool life) and comfort grips were key elements of our design!
Australian based Japanese bar tender Chiharu Tomizawa… kindly lent her ice mastery talents to the Japanese speaking demo of our new ice tools... it’s worth checking out here... even if you don’t speak Japanese!
As the voyage to reverse sell Über design back to Japan evolves, join us on this journey... if nothing else, it’s guaranteed to be interesting.